October  24  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
383' 
Indoor  Fruit  Culture. 
(' Continued  from  page  332.) 
The  Grape  Vine  is  probably  the  most  generally  cutlivated  of 
all  fruits  under  glass.  It  needs  no  praise  nor  encomiums  from 
me,  as  everyone  present  knows  bow  important  a  fruit  it  is,  and 
the  fact  that,  given  proper  convenience,  the  gardener  can  pro¬ 
duce  Grapes  for  his  employer’s  table  every  day  in  the  year,  is 
sufficient  to  account  for  the  high  esteem  in  which  it  is  held.  I 
need  not  describe  the  various  methods  of  propagating  the  Vine, 
as  the  simple  one  of  raising  young  canes  from  eyes  of  the  previous 
year’s  wood  is  at  once  the  easiest  and  best,  and  with  this  you  are 
doubtless  all  acquainted.  But  the  growing  of  the  young  Vines 
from  the  first,  is  a  point  that  needs  care  and  judgment. 
Many  growers  appear  to  think  that  because  a  young  Vine  has 
to  be  cut  rather  hard  back  after  its  first  season’s  growth,  that 
therefore  its  infancy,  so  to  speak,  need  not  be  troubled  about 
very  much.  This  is  a  very  wrong  idea,  and  when  preparing  Vines, 
either  for  pot  work  or  for  planting  out,  I  have  always  found  it 
best  to  give  them  every  consideration ;  to  allow  them  ample 
room  in  light,  unshaded  houses,  and  by  due  pinching  of  the 
PEAR  FERTILITY. 
laterals  to  give  the  principal  leaves  their  full  share  of  light  and 
air,  thus  leaving  them  free  to  carry  out  their  proper  functions  of 
sap  elaboration,  and  the  development  of  strong  basal  buds.  In 
potting  them  on,  always  give  small  shifts  from  first  to  last, 
and  if  the  young  Vines  are  intended  to  fruit  in  their  second  year 
— -which  they  will  do  if  properly  attended  to — the  final  potting 
should  take  place  not  later  than  the  first  week  in  June. 
Vine  Planting. 
Coming  to  Vine  planting,  I  can,  from  my  own  experience, 
strongly  recommend  the  rooting  of  eyes  in  cubes  of  turf,  and 
setting  these  out  at  the  requisite  distance  apart  about  the  end 
of  May.  There  is  no  check  to  their  growth  in  any  stage,  and  if 
a  crop  is  required  the  first  season,  supernumeraries  may  be 
planted,  or  the  space  filled  with  Tomatoes,  the  latter  giving  an 
excellent  return  for  the  year’s  work  without  obstructing  the 
light,  as  any  supernumerary  Vines  would  do.  About  the  growing 
treatment  I  need  say  very  little.  If  the  borders  are  made  as 
described  above,  the  young  Vines  carefully  nursed  until  they 
begin  to  grow,  and  a  genial  atmosphere  is  kept  up,  they  can 
hardly  go  wrong. 
But  in  pinching  and  training,  the  popular  plan  of  Vine 
growers  leaves  much  to  be  desired.  The  plants  are  allowed  to 
rush  away  and  fill  the  house  without  any  check,  and  all  this 
superfluous  wood  is  cut  away  in  the  autumn.  This  is  an  abso¬ 
lute  waste  of  the  Vine’s  energies,  and  is  as  unnatural  as  it  is 
unnecessary.  It  is  usually  thought  that  something  very  extras 
ordinary  in  the  way  of  root  production  is  induced  by  this  very 
large  head  of  foliage,  but  I  have  yet  to  learn  that  the  Vine  is 
much  the  better  for  the  class  of  root  that  is  produced  under 
these  conditions,  and  should  greatly  prefer  a  smaller  and  harder 
root.  This,  I  have  every  reason  to  think,  is  induced  by  the 
method  of  pinching  that  I  have  frequently  described  in  the 
gardening  press  and  elsewhere. 
When  the  young  Vines  have  become  established  and  growing; 
vigorously,  watch  for  the  first  indication  of  lengthening  joints, 
which  usually  occurs  at  about  a  couple  of  feet  or  3U  inches 
in  height,  then  pinch  the  Vine  to  the  first  leaf  of  the  size  of 
a  penny.  The  lateral  that  starts  should  in  a  few  days  be  pinched 
entirely  out,  and  this  will  have  the  effect  of  starting  the  basal 
or  winter  bud.  Take  the  resulting  shoot  on,  and  treat  it  this  way 
at  about  every  30  inches.  The  stopping  prevents  undue 
excess  of  growth  from  the  leader,  and  causes  a  more  regular 
swell  or  thickening  of  the  rod.  In  addition  the  rod  will  be 
straight  or  nearly  so,  instead  of  showing  the  unsightly  turns  and 
crooks  to  where  the  annual  cutting  back  has  been  made.  But,, 
best  of  all,  the  Vine  is  brought  more  quickly  into  a  bearing  state, 
as  a  few  bunches  may  be  taken  in  the  second  season,  and  a  full 
crop  the  third.  Some  growers  have  objected  to  this  system  ; 
they  say  that  the  Vines  are  not  likely  to  live  long  when  grown 
this  way,  but  of  this  I  am  doubtful. 
I  have  had  excellent  results  for  five  years  in  succession  from 
it,  and  when  I  left  the  Vines  in  question  they  were  in  splendid 
condition,  and  looked  as  though  they  would  certainly  live  a  few 
years  longer.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  first  year’s 
principal  leaves  stand  in  just  the  same  relation  to  the  fruit  buds 
as  do  those  on  the  laterals  in  after¬ 
years,  and  they  must  be  carefully 
preserved  by  judicious  ventila¬ 
tion,  and  by  keeping  the  laterals 
thin  to  admit  plenty  of  light.  And 
while  on  the  subject  of  pinching, 
it  may  be  well  to  mention  a  fact 
often  lost  sight  of,  viz.,  that  black 
varieties  of  Grapes,  such  as 
Madresfield  Court,  Black  Ham¬ 
burgh,  and  Lady  Downe’s,  always 
lay  on  a  more  perfect  colour  under 
a  thick  canopy  of  foliage  than  do 
white  varieties,  such,  for  instance, 
as  Muscat  of  Alexandria,  Foster’s 
Seedling,  and  Buckland  Sweet¬ 
water.  The  latter  need  plenty  of 
light  to  finish  properly,  so  the  sub¬ 
laterals  must  be  suppressed  en¬ 
tirely  back  to  the  bunch,  and  only 
allowed  moderate  extension  after¬ 
wards. 
The  practice  of  tying  back  the 
foliage  to  allow  the  light  to  reach 
the  top  of  the  bunch  cannot  be  too 
strongly  condemned.  It  ruins  the 
leaves,  and  by  allowing  a  sudden 
rush  of  light  to  parts  un¬ 
accustomed  to  it  burns  the  berries, 
and  causes  that  thick,  muddy  look 
that  is  so  bad  a  blemish  to  other¬ 
wise  fine  specimens.  One  word  as 
to  thinning.  Always  study  the 
variety  when  using  the  scissors, 
allowing  more  room  to  the  large 
varieties,  such  as  Gros  Colman  and  Gros  Maroc,  than  to  the  sorts, 
with  medium-sized  berries.  And  also  consider  the  Vines,  re¬ 
membering  that  the  berries  on  old  and  stunted  ones  seldom  swell 
to  a  large  size,  as  do  those  on  young,  vigorous  plants. — H.  R.  R. 
(To  be  concluded.) 
Pear  Fertility. 
The  variety  illustrated  is  a  well-tried,  very  hardy  dessert 
Pear,  which  ripens  about  the  third  week  in  September.  It 
originated  as  a  seedling  in  Messrs.  Rivers  and  Son’s  nursery 
at  Sawbridgeworth,  where  it  does  remarkably  well.  Our 
figure  affords  a  very  honest  guide  to  its  appearance  in  form. 
The  skin  is  covered  with  a  bright  “  cinnamon  coat  of  russet, 
which  has  an  orange  tint  on  the  side  exposed  to  the  sun. 
Flesh,  half-melting  or  crackling,  very  juicy,  sweet,  and  with 
a  rich  and  highly  perfumed  flavour  similar  to  that  of 
Williams’  Bon  Chretien,  much  subdued.”  It  is  altogether  a 
very  excellent  Pear,  with  a  rich  and  refreshing  juice,  which 
is  sugary,  acidulous,  and  clean  on  the  palate ;  and  one 
which  we  think  might  be  more  liberally  planted  than  it  has 
hitherto  been.  It  is  a  great  bearer,  proving  useful  for 
market.  In  the  North  it  is  a  safe  variety  when  worked  on 
the  Quince.  It  often  succeeds  on  cold  soils  where  other 
varieties  fail. 
